System for Managing, Storing and Providing Shared Digital Content to Users in a User Relationship Defined Group in a Multi-Platform Environment

1. A system for managing, storing and providing shared digital content to a group of users in a multi-platform environment, comprising: a cloud storage component configured to store digital content items that are shared by members in a user relationship defined group; a registration engine coupled to the cloud storage component and configured to: receive one or more requests to link a first client device and a second client device to the user relationship defined group; and transmit a family certificate comprising device identifiers (IDs) associated with the first client device and the second client device to a family gateway, wherein the family certificate is transmitted to the family gateway to support authentication of the first client device and the second client device; an authentication engine coupled to the registration engine and configured to authenticate the first client device and the second client device upon receiving the family certificate; and a cloud service component coupled to the authentication engine and configured to: subsequent to authentication, provide a first portion of one of the digital content items to the first client device for a first member of the user relationship defined group in a format suitable for the first client device; receive an indication that a user is changing access to the second client device; and subsequent to authentication, provide a second portion of the one of the digital content items to the second client device in a format suitable for the second client device, wherein the first client device and the second client device are different devices, and wherein the format suitable for the first client device is different from the format suitable for the second client device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud service component is further configured to enforce access restriction policy defined by an administrative member of the user relationship defined group.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud service component is further configured to enforce license terms for the digital content.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital content comprises a restricted access digital content item, and wherein the cloud service component is further configured to: receive a request for access to the restricted access digital content item from an access restricted member of the user relationship defined group; and forward the request to a client device of an administrative member of the user relationship defined group.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the cloud service component is further configured to provide the restricted access digital content item to the access restricted member of the user relationship defined group when the administrative member of the user relationship defined group submits approval for the access restricted member of the user relationship defined group to access the restricted access digital content.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user relationship defined group members communicate with the cloud service component via at least one of a wireless and a wired communication link.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud service component is configured to provide at least one of a service for managing a user relationship defined group member, a user relationship defined group content, an access control, a user relationship defined group account, a user relationship defined group license, a transaction, a revenue sharing, a terminal hand off, digital content marketplace, a user relationship defined group social network, a device, and a communication channel.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud service component is configured to manage different types of licenses for different ones of the digital content, and wherein the different types of licenses comprise a license limited by a total number of minutes, a license limited by an expiration time or date, and a license limited by the number of installations.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the digital content items is provided to the first client device at a first location, the second portion of the digital content items is provided to the first client device at a second location, and wherein the first location is not the second location.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein one of the client devices is a mobile device.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one of the digital content items comprises streaming digital content.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the indication that the user is changing access to the second client device is a request to change a delivery point of the streaming digital content.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the streaming digital content comprises video.

14. A computer implemented method comprising: storing a plurality of digital content items shared by a plurality of user relationship defined group members of a user relationship defined group in one or more cloud network storage devices; implementing, with a processor, group controls on the plurality of digital content items, wherein different user relationship defined group members have different rights of access to the plurality of digital content items; receiving, with a receiver, one or more requests to link a first client device and a second client device to the user relationship defined group; and transmitting a family certificate comprising identifiers (IDs) associated with the first client device and the second client device to a family gateway, wherein the family certificate is transmitted to the family gateway to support authentication of the first client device and the second client device; authenticating the first client device and the second client device upon receiving the family certificate; subsequent to authentication, providing, with a transmitter, a first portion of one of the plurality of digital content items to a first client device for a user relationship defined group member in a first format; receiving a notice that the member is changing access to a second client device; and subsequent to authentication, providing a second portion of the one of the plurality of digital content items to a second client device in a second format, wherein the first client device is different from the second client device, and wherein the first format and the second format are different.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 14 , further comprising: receiving a purchasing request for a digital content item from a requesting member of the user relationship defined group; prompting an administrator member of the user relationship defined group to authorize or deny the purchasing request; receiving a response from the administrator member; determining with a processor whether the response authorizes the purchasing request; and providing with a processor the digital content item corresponding to the purchasing request to the requesting user relationship defined group member if the response from the administrator member authorizes the purchasing request.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of digital content items comprises at least one of video, music, an application, a video game, an electronic book (ebook), and other multimedia.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 14 , wherein the first portion of the digital content items is provided to the first client device at a first location, the second portion of the digital content items is provided to the first client device at a second location, and wherein the first location is not the second location.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 14 , wherein the notice that the member is changing access to the second client device comprises a request to change a delivery point of streaming digital content.